


Shining Within Memory

by malachibi



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: F/M, Mentioned Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Temporary Character Death, Time Loop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:28:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28204611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/malachibi/pseuds/malachibi
Summary: Edda wakes up after the worst day of her life to find that it's the same day. And then again. And then again, until she can find a way to fix what happened.
Relationships: Avere Bravearm/Edda Pureheart
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2
Collections: Final Fantasy XIV Gift Exchange 2020





	Shining Within Memory

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ThatScottishShipper](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatScottishShipper/gifts).



> Gift for ThatScottishShipper, for the prompt "Edda and her love Lives" 
> 
> I hope this is what you meant! Happy Starlight!

Edda wakes up, and for a moment, she can forget the tragedy that had occurred yesterday. 

They'd gone into the Tam-Tara Deepcroft as a group of four, but only three had emerged, and it had been her fault. 

If she'd just kept up with Avere… 

But she hadn't, and now all she can do is live with her grief. 

She sits up, ready to face the day with what bits of courage she has left, but blinks in confusion as she looks around. 

This isn't the inn she'd fell asleep in last night. It looks more like the one they'd slept in together before heading to the Deepcroft. 

And sure enough, instead of being alone, there are three other bedrolls on the floor, all empty. 

As she stares in confusion, Liavinne comes in, scowling at her. 

"Hurry up and get ready! We don't have all day to get to the Deepcroft, and we don't want some other adventurers to beat us to it. Where the seven hells did the boys go?" she demands, and leaves again without waiting for a response. 

Numbly, Edda goes about her morning routine, getting dressed and checking her equipment before packing up everyone's bedrolls and setting them by the door. 

By the time Liavinne reappears with Avere and Paiyo Reiyo in tow, she has everything ready, and everyone picks up their own bag and heads out. 

Avere leads the way down the path, and the rest of them fall in line, weapons out in case they run into a fight on their way. 

It feels… normal. It shouldn't be, because she has already lived through this day, but it's comforting to fall in line and trust in her party members to fend off enemies while she keeps their bodies healthy. 

With the open world around her, it's a lot easier to do compared to the confined, confusing spaces of a dungeon. 

By the time they've reached the Deepcroft, she's convinced herself that her memory is just a bad dream, a product of her nervousness about her ability to heal through this next adventure, and she pushes it out of her mind. 

Halfway through the Deepcroft, the same thing from her memory happens - a monster jumps out, Avere chases it around a corner as she's chanting a spell, and before she can catch up with him, Liavinne screams. 

"No! Avere!"

Edda sinks down to her knees, burying her face in her hands, and thinks that maybe she should have paid more attention to her supposed dream. 

\--

Edda wakes up, and for a moment, she can forget the tragedy that had occurred yesterday. 

When she sits up, she's back in the same inn, and her breath catches. 

Another dream? Or… another chance?

Liavinne pokes her head in, Edda packs up their stuff with her heart beating fast in her chest, and then the group gathers up and heads out again. 

This time she'll be ready. This time she'll be watching for that monster. 

And she does. She waits to cast until Avere runs around the corner, and she follows him before casting cure, and Paiyo shoots a fireball at the monster and destroys it. 

Crisis averted, she thinks. 

Or, crisis delayed, at least. 

They get to the final set of orbs, and two void soulcounters show up, and she frantically heals as they both go after Avere, only to be foiled again by the last soulcounter's death blow. 

"You did this," Liavinne says furiously, and Edda just nods. 

She did do this. But she'll know better for next time. 

\--

Edda wakes up. Edda wakes up. Edda wakes up. 

Each day, she packs up their things, and they head down to the Deepcroft, and somewhere in there, she's not good enough, or Paiyo's not fast enough, or Liavinne's not strong enough, or Avere's not cautious enough, and then Avere dies and the party splits up and she goes to sleep only to wake up in the morning and try again. 

They've made it to the last summon of the Lambs of Dalamud twice so far, and each time have failed to take him down. 

On the seventh day, she'd tentatively suggested that maybe they needed more practice working as a group, and Avere had blown her off. 

He's mad about something, she realizes on day nine or ten, and she doesn't think it's her. 

None of them are repeating days, so why would he be angry at her? She hadn't done anything the day before today, that she can remember. 

On the twelfth day, she leaves before Liavinne can poke her head in, and spends a frantic bell searching for Avere. Unable to find him, and unwilling to take another trip into the Deepcroft, she hides up in a tree and waits until she sees her three party members arguing outside the inn before going back in. 

She's safe for today, she thinks, and takes a little nap in her chosen tree. 

\--

Edda half-expects to wake up in the inn room to find that it's morning again, but instead she wakes up still in the tree, with someone calling her name from below. 

"Avere!" she replies, and scrambles down. 

"Where have you been?" he demands, though his face looks less pinched than it had from a distance this morning. 

"Sorry, I climbed up the tree to wait for everyone to be ready, and I must have fallen asleep," she says. 

"Well, we lost our chance. That arcanist beat us to it," he tells her with a scowl. 

The same arcanist had beaten them to completing Sastasha, she recalls. Maybe they would have been first, if she hadn't taken so long to buy potions. 

Either way, that means her nightmare is over. The dungeon is cleared, and so Avere can't go back in there and die, and therefore everything will be okay. She'll get better at healing before another dungeon shows up, she's sure of it. 

With nothing better to do, Avere spends the night with her, and she falls asleep with her head on his shoulder, just like old times. 

\--

Edda wakes up, and for a moment she thinks she's succeeded. 

Liavinne sticks her head in the door, and her hopes are dashed. 

Well, they won't remember how she hid yesterday, so she hides up in a different tree this time, searching farther away for Avere. 

She does it again the next day, and finally finds him arguing on a bridge with Paiyo Reiyo. 

They're looking for something, she thinks, but she's too far away to figure out what. 

The next day, she strolls over to the bridge and catches them actively searching for something in the water. 

"What are you looking for?" she asks, figuring maybe the direct approach will work best. 

Both of them jump, and Avere glares. 

"None of your business! Aren't you supposed to be getting ready to heal? We have to be able to clear this dungeon if we want any chance at making a name for ourselves as adventurers."

Chastised, she walks away, but then circles back quietly and ducks under the bridge. 

Whatever they're searching for must be important, if it's taking them away from preparations to enter the dungeon, so maybe that's the secret to getting through it. 

She trails a hand in the water as she looks slowly and carefully at every inch of the area in her vision, and… there!

Edda dashes to the other end of the bridge, catching a glimpse of something metallic, and pulls out a gauntlet. 

With one in hand, it doesn't take her long to find the second one, and as she examines them, she thinks they look familiar. 

Avere's gauntlets, she realizes. 

She sticks a hand in one, remembering how she'd used to do this when they were just starting out. 

There's something inside, and so she pulls the gauntlet off to examine in. 

It's his engagement ring, the one she'd bought from a goldsmithing apprentice passing through their village what feels like forever ago. 

And he'd lost it. That's why he's upset; that's why he and Paiyo have been out here searching for something every morning. 

And maybe, just maybe, that's why he'd been too reckless in the dungeon. 

They're gone when she emerges from under the bridge, but that's okay. 

Now that she knows where to look, she can find it again tomorrow. 

\--

Edda wakes up, full of hope. She jumps out of bed and rushes down to the bridge, finding the gauntlets before Avere and Paiyo even notice she's there. 

"We can't run a dungeon without your trusty gauntlets," she tells Avere cheerfully, and he looks surprised as he accepts them. 

The first thing he does is dig into the one in search of the engagement ring, so maybe it was that he was missing more than the gloves. 

Either way, they're ready to go now, and Edda has faith that they'll make it through this time. 

She follows Avere back to the inn, helps pack up their things, and then they're off again. 

It's the first time in days Edda's made it possible to go to the Deepcroft, and she just hopes she hasn't forgotten how to handle all the potential bad spots. 

It ends up not mattering, though - Avere sticks fairly close, and it's actually a hole in the floor that trips up Paiyo Reiyo and sprains his ankle, and that's the reason they end up leaving without completing the dungeon. 

It's a little sad that they still hadn't made it, but they're leaving with all four party members alive and intact, and Paiyo Reiyo lets her fuss over his leg with both magic and potions as they hope to rest tonight and go back tomorrow. 

Maybe she'll wake up on the same day again tomorrow - in fact, she expects to, since they haven't cleared the dungeon - but Edda thinks it will be okay now. 

\--

Edda wakes up, in a little tent outside the Tam-Tara Deepcroft. 

She flies out of bed once she realizes what happens, and so she's the one standing outside the tent when the Lalafell arcanist comes out of the Deepcroft with a party, looking worn out but triumphant. 

Their party goes their separate ways, and the arcanist notices her and gives her a thumbs up before ambling down the road, presumably headed back towards the inn. 

So the Deepcroft is cleared, and they hadn't managed it. 

Edda can't be too mad about it, though - her Avere is alive, and so are Paiyo Reiyo and Liavinne, and there will be more adventures for them to take on. 

After all, if the arcanist is working their way up in the world, someone will have to step in and take care of the smaller problems, and why shouldn't it be Edda's party?

Smiling, she heads back into the tent, ready to wake everyone up and face the new day. 

\--


End file.
